More on worship

Last time we saw from Psalm 95: 1-6 that thanksgiving and praise are the first two stages of a journey into God’s presence that, once complete, bring us to the place of worship.

Worship is the only appropriate response to a revelation of the holiness of God but without that revelation we cannot truly worship God. We can get together and have a ‘song service’, but we do not enter into worship until we have a revelation, however inadequate it may be, of the holiness of God – and the holiness of God is not to be explained, it cannot be defined – it can only be revealed.

But holiness is not a set of rules about where you may go, what you may do, how you may talk and dress – that’s nothing to do with holiness.

“Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: ‘Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!’These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

The trouble is that the more you focus on the things you think must not do the more power they have over you, you think to yourself, “don’t lose your temper, whatever you do’ but you are focussing on the wrong thing!

Holiness is not a set of do’s and don’ts – God is not holy because he has a set of rules to follow – holiness is the essence of what God is. Everything about God is holy.

“Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all round, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was, and is, and is to come.’”

Why do you think these four creatures constantly say, “Holy, Holy, Holy”?

Is it possible they’re saying, “Holy is the Father, Holy is the Son, Holy is the Spirit”?

Perhaps it is simply that, as it has been traditionally understood that three is the number of divine perfection, they are saying, simply,“God is perfectly Holy!”

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Random Quote

The first element in worship is adoration. The Hebrews expressed this by their posture and not alone by their word. For they prostrated themselves before God. “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker”. They did not come with an easy familiarity into the presence of God, but were aware of his greatness and majesty, and came with a sense of privilege to His house.

— H.H.Rowley

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